The East India Company Invented Corporate Lobbying

It’s become commonplace for corporate lobbyists to write bills passed in state legislatures. The influence of corporate lobbyists in the U.S. Congress may be more subtle, but the combined power of lobbyists, many of them former politicians, is a major driver of the influence of corporate power in American government today. Read Here – JStor […]

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Make China Great Again: Xi’s Truly Grand Strategy

To the extent that any nation has a grand strategy, China surely does. The vision is no secret: Xi Jinping vows to make China great again. This resonates deeply: Since imperial decline in the First Opium War (1839 to 1842), every Chinese leader has sought the same, with broad popular support. Xi’s strategy for a modern […]

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Revolutions For Whom?

As liberal elites both East and West commemorate the peaceful end of the Cold War and celebrate the successes of the last three decades, it is important to recognize how painful the post-communist transition was – and, for many, continues to be. That is why nostalgia for the economic security and social stability of the […]

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The Middle East’s Lost Decades

Today, nearly ten years later, the situation in the Middle East looks even worse than it did before the Arab Spring. Political repression is more onerous. Economic growth is sluggish and unequal. Corruption remains rampant. Gender equality is more aspiration than reality. Yet something fundamental has changed. Arab governments have traditionally rested on what political […]

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China’s Economic Growth Slows To A 30-Year Low. But Is It The U.S. Trade War?

The trade war seems like the simplest explanation for China’s diminishing economic growth. The White House has slapped tariffs up to 25% on a $550 billion basket of U.S.-bound exports and Chinese exports to the U.S. dropped 22% in September. But while U.S. China hawks would no doubt like to take credit for dinging Beijing’s economy, […]

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